a city wall and a trampoline:

Wayfarin’ Stranger // Maria McKee // Songcatcher // McKee does my favorite version of this song. I sing harmonies along with it–so much fun–and it was one of the songs I sang to comfort myself while my uncle was dying. I can understand why, in bygone days, songs about dying meant so much to the healthy and able-bodied living. I can understand the appeal of a Christianity that promised peace after a long, hard life.

Over The Rainbow // Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole // Facing Future // Also my favorite version of this song. A man, his voice, and a string instrument (I am not nearly good enough to determine which Wikipedia says a ukulele). So the words don’t come in the “right” order? I still feel them more in this track than I ever did in the original, to the point of actually tearing up.

Make You Feel My Love // Adele // 19 // Whether you’re 19 or, ahem, 25, it’s so easy to identify with this desire to scoop someone up and show them how special they are. So easy to wish you could be the one to do it. I felt it then and I still feel it; of course, now I get to do it, and that makes me happier than I can say.

Song Beneath The Song // Maria Taylor // 11:11 // It’s not a love song.

Monument // Mirah // Advisory Committee // If I told you what this meant to me, I would be spoiling you for the excellent-so-far second season of Downton Abbey. Even Laura Linney was happy this one came back; I could hear the love in her voice as she gave the intro. So go find the song, and then go find S2E1. You won’t regret either one.